German (Đorić) of Serbia

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His Holiness, the Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch German (Serbian Cyrillic: Његова светост Герман Архиепископ пећки, Митрополит београдско-карловачки и Патријарх српски) (August 19, 1899, Jošanička Banja, Serbia - August 27, 1991, Belgrade, Serbia) was the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1958 to 1990.he was successful in revitalizing the Serbian Orthodox Church to a certain extent during the Communist period, despite two schisms that occurred during his tenure.

Early life

Patriarch German was born on August 19, 1899, as Hranislav Đorić in Jošanička Banja. His father was teacher and later priest. He attended elemenatary school in Velika Drenova and Kruševac, seminary in Belgrade and Sremski Karlovci (graduating in 1921), studying law in Paris (Sorbonne) and finally graduating at the Orthodox Theological Faculty in Belgrade in 1942. He was ordained a deacon, appointed the clerk of the Spiritual Court in Čačak and also a catechist in the Čačak's high school. Due to ill health, he left the administrative jobs and was ordained a presbyter, receiving his own parish of Miokovci. In 1931 he moved to Vrnjačka Banja and in 1938 became a referent of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church. He had children .His son Hranislav later became protodeacon and teacher at St. sava Seminary in Belgrade. In 1950 he become secertary general of the Holy Synod and editor in chief of the Glasnik, the official gazette of the Serbian Orthodox Church Because he was a widower he took monastic wovs 1950 Studenica monastery, acquiring the name German. After that he is ordained as auxilary Bishop of Serbian Patriarch Vikentije, with title vicar bishop of Moravice In 1951 he was appointed a bishop of Budim. However, as Hungarian authorities didn't approve his appointment neither allowed him to enter the country, so he was never enthroned. In 1956 he was appointed the bishop of Žiča, one of most prestigeous sees in Serbia. He succeded St. Nikolaj. In this capacity, he was also an administrator (acting bishop) of Budimlja-Polimlje and Raška-Prizren eparchies.

Patriarch

When patriarch Vikentije suddenly died on July 5, 1958, German was elected the 43rd Patriarch of Peć on September 14, 1958. However some sources claim a much higher number, as a result of over a dozen of people who occupied the throne, but were not officially ordained or recognized as such or the patriarchs of Karlovci in Austria-Hungary which are not counted in the list of official patriarchs (especially not as patriarchs of Peć, instead calling themselves patriarchs of the Serbs). German was labeled a pro-communist from some priests the dioceses from abroad. This was one of the reason of the split of the diocese of Nova Gračanica in North America in 1963, and the appointment of two bishops, one schismatic and another loyal to German. The problem was solved in 1992 in the early period of German's successor, patriarch Pavle, when the split diocese rejoined the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church, thus poiniting out that the problem was perhaps more of a personal, rather than a dogmatic dispute.The schism of the Macedonian Orthodox Church is a much deeper and complicated issue.German set to revitalize the Serbian Orthodox Church, which was greatly oppressed by the Communist government. Despite harsh conditions, he managed to form several new dioceses: Western Europe (1969), Australia (1973), Vranje (1975) and Canada (1983). He oversaw the finishing works on the new seminary complex of buildings in Belgrade (including the campus) in 1958, so today the entire neighborhood surrounding the complex is known as Богословија (Serbian for seminary). He also opened new seminary in the Krka monastery in Croatia. In 1984 he visited the site of the concentration camp Jasenovac, saying a now famous line: Опростити морамо, заборавити не смемо (To forgive, we must to...to forget, we must not). Many consider German's greatest achievement to be his successful campaign for the resumption of the construction of the Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade, which was stopped in 1941. In 26 years from his appointment, he urged Communist government 88 times until they finally authorized the construction to continue in 1984. In 1989, patriarch German broke his hip, which lead to a series of surgeries and repeated injuries, so the already old patriarch was unable to perform his duties. As a result of this, the Holy Synod declared him incapacitated on August 27, 1990, and appointed the metropolitan bishop of Zagreb and Ljubljana Jovan Pavlović as the guardian of the throne and elected the new patriarch, Pavle, on December 1, 1990. His Holiness, Serbian Patriarch, German, died in the VMA hospital in Belgrade on August 27, 1991, aged 92, and was buried in Belgrade's St. Mark's Church. His tenure of 32 years in the office is second longest in the history of the Serbian Orthodox Church after patriarch Pajsije.


Succession box:
German (Đorić) of Serbia
Preceded by:
St Nikolaj
Bishop ofŽiča
1956-1958
Succeeded by:
Vasilije
Preceded by:
Vikentije
Patriarch of Serbia
1958-1990
Succeeded by:
Pavle
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